The present invention relates to a method of securing power transmission devices to shafts, and more particularly to a system for attaching a hollow sleeve to a shaft by means of a single tapered bushing which can be installed from either end of the sleeve. The system is particularly applicable to devices such as shaft mounted speed reducers where the speed reducer is mounted directly to and is supported by the shaft that it drives.
Such speed reducers are utilized in various types of industrial applications. For example, shaft mounted speed reducers may be used to drive a conveyor. In this application, the speed reducer is ordinarily mounted directly onto the conveyor head shaft. A bracket is typically mounted to the reducer to support a motor which drives the reducer by way of a v-belt drive.
In this type of application, the speed reducer is usually attached to the shaft by means of some form of tapered bushing system which accommodates a range of driven shaft sizes and provides a clearance-free compression fit between the reducers hollow output quill and the driven shaft. Such systems typically utilize either a single bushing mounted from one end of the quill or two bushings mounted on either end of the quill. Since the driven shaft on which the reducer is to be mounted is not always long enough to pass entirely through the reducer""s quill, two-bushing systems may not be usable. Because of this unknown application variable, single bushing systems are typically installed from the back side of the quill next to the driven machinery. If the driven shaft is of sufficient length, either system could be applied, however, because space between the reducer and driven machinery is often limited, it would be desirable to have a single bushing system that could also be mounted from the outboard end of the quill at the user""s discretion. The present invention provides the art with such a mounting system.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, and the appended claims and accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention.